Shinui

Shinui is a liberal political party in Israel that was founded in 1974. The party was founded by the highly educated middle class of Israel, with business people and academics spearheading the party's formation. The party was a member of the Democratic Movement for Change prior to the 1977 elections, and the party barely clung on to its representation in the Knesset during the 1980s and 1990s. In 2003, the party won 15 seats, making it the third-largest in the Knesset. The party used its bargaining power to shudder the Religious Affairs ministry, and it held a centrist stance on security issues. The formation of Kadima deprived Shinui - the standard bearer of economic liberalism and secularism - of its national constituency, and it fragmented into smaller parties.